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M EMORtAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



Jonathan T. IJpdegraff, 



i a kki'Ki;skn iativi: i i: >.u mil 



Hill Si: lit' REPRESENTATIVES AND IN THE SENATE, 



l'ni;n sKVKMII CONGRESS, SECOND SESSIOI 



'1 III.MIKIi IIV m: li 1 .11 i'i . ii\i.|;1 - 



WASH] N Q T X : 

no V K li N M E N I P B 1 N T I X G I I I C K 

l 883. 
0171 



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JOINT RESOLUTION to provide for tin- pulplioatinn of the i lorial addresses delivered 

in Congress upon the late Jonathan T. Updegraff. 

Resolved by the Senate, and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That there be printed twelve thousand copies 
ol tlic memorial addresses delivered in the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives upon the life and character of Hon. Jonathan T. Updegraff, late a 
Representative from the State of Ohio, together with a portrait of the de- 
ceased : nine thousand copies thereof for the use of the House of Representa- 
tives and three thousand copies for the use of the Senate. And a sum 
sufficient to defray the expense of preparing and printing the portrait of the 
deceased for the publication herein provided for is hereby appropriated out 
of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

Approved February 2:!, 1883. 
2 



ADDRESSES 

O.N THE 

Death of Jonathan T. Updegraff. 

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE. 

In the Souse of Representatives, 

December 1. 1882. 

Mr. Herbert. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce that since t ho 
adjournment of this House in August my colleague, Hon. Wn.i i wi 
M. Lowe, died at hi- residence in Buntsville, Alabama; and mak- 
ing to-day simply this sad announcement that he has gone from 
among as forever, I give notice that on sonic future occasion a 
motion will be made to fix a day upon which this Mouse .shall pay 
appropriate honors to his memory. 

I now yield to the gentleman from Ohio, who has a similar an- 
nouncement to make. 

In Tin: EfOl SE OF RePRESES i \ I [VES, 

December 4, 1882. 

Mr. Ezra I'.. Taylor. .Mr. Speaker, with feelings of the deepest 
personal sorrow I have to announce the death of my honorable col- 
league, Jonathan T. UPDEGRAFF, late a member of this House 
from the State of Ohio. The experience of Mr. UPDEGRAFF in 
this Hall, hi- fidelity to the public service, his integrity, and his 
ability cause hi- loss to he deplored by this body and by the coun- 
try. His private character and -ncial qualities give to his death 
gro I tor peculiar grief to those who knew him best. 

I ask the action of the House on the following resolution. 



4 LIFE AND CEARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, Thai the Bouse has Ueard with sincere regret the announcement 
of the death during the late recess of Hon. William M. Low e, late a Repre- 
sentative from the State of Alabama, and of Hon. Jonathan T. LTpdegrai i , 
;i Representative from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, Thai the Clerk com men.' the foregoiqg resolution to the Sen- 
ate. 

ed the House do now ad- 



cordingly the 



Resolved, Thai as a mark • > 


' respei 


i to thed 


journ. 






The resolution was ui 


auimo 


,-lv adoj 


House adjourned. 







In the House ok Representatives, 

January 20, 1883. 
Mr. Joseph D. Tavi.ui; I ask unanimous consent that Tues- 
day, February (i. at "J o'clock p. in., 1«- fixed as the time for the 
consideration of suitable resolutions of respect, and for paying ap- 
propriate tributes to the memory of my deceased predecessor, the 
Hon. Jonathan T. LTpdegraff. 



In the House op Representatives, 

February 6, 1883. 
Mr. Joseph D. Taylor. The hour assigned for exercises dedi- 
cated to the memory of the late Hon. Jonathan T. Opdegrafp 

has now arrived, and 1 am directed by mj colleagues to present for 
the consideration of the House, the resolutions which 1 send to the 
de.sk to be read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, Thai the Houseof Representatives has received with profound 
sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. J. T. I pdegrakf, late a Rep- 
resentative from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended thai suitable 
Illinois iij .i \ I" paid t.ii the intinon ol tin- deceased. 

Resolved, Thai the Clerk of the House do communicate those resolutions to 
the Senate of the United States. 

Resolved, Thai as a further mark ofrespeel the House, al the conclusion of 

these memorial exercises, shall adjourn. 



ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH 1>. T.I YI.OR, OF OHIO. 



Address of Mr. Joseph D. Taylor, of Ohio. 

Mr. Speaker: The dark shadow of death has fallen heavily 
upon the Foi-ty-seventh Congress. Nine times has the sable mes- 
senger glided across the i! ■ of this House, bearing from the busy 

scenes of its activity Fernando Wood, of New York ; Michael P. 
O'Connor, of South Carolina; .lames Q.Smith and William M. 
Lowe, of Alabama; Robert M. A. Hawk, of Illinois; Thomas 
Allen, of Missouri; Jonathan T. Updegraff, of Ohio, Godlove 
S.Orth.of Indiana; and John W. Shackelford, of North Caro- 
lina. And they passed away in the order in which I have named 
them. 

Mr. Smith, of Alabama, whom the House, duly 20, 1882, ad- 
judged elected to represent the fourth district of Alabama, died 
in this city pending the contest of his election, and before the de- 
cision of the House in his favor. 

To this list of mortality must be added Senator Burnside, of 
Rhode Island; Senator Carpenter, of Wisconsin; and Senator 
Hill, of < reorgia. 

Ohio ha- Keen singularly fortunate during the eighty years of 
her history as a State. In this long period but seven of her mem- 
bers of Congress, including both Houses, have fallen at their posts 
of duty : 

In 1821, Senator Trimble; in 1844, Representatives Brinker- 
hoff and Moore; in L850, Representative W I ; in 1867, Repre- 
sentative Hamilton; in 1870, Representative Hoag; and in 1882, 
Representative Dpdegr \ i i . 

We are here to-day to pay tributes of respect to the memory of 
my honored predecessor, the Hon. Jonathan T. Updegraff, 
and the dedicate and responsible duty of opening the remarks of 
this occasion has Keen assigned to "me by my colleagues. 

On the 30th day of November last, when the flowers of summer 
had faded and when the leaves of autumn had fallen, there came to 
the home of Or. Updegraff, in the picturesque village of Mount 



6 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATRAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

Pleasant, < )hio, a messenger which no human power can turn away. 
( >ii that day of national thanksgiving, when family greetings and 
domestic joys were filling other homes and other hearts, the dark- 
ness and desolation of death settled upon the home and hearth- 
stone of that once happy family. The silver cord was loosed, the 
golden bowl was broken, and the husband, father, neighbor, states- 
man, friend, closed his eyes forever upon the scene of his earthly 
struggles and triumphs and was numbered with the dead. I do 
not rise here to indulge in any fulsome adulation of our deceased 
brother. No meed of eulogistic praise can add to the measure of 
a life rounded up, completed, the volume ended, the record closed, 
and scaled with the clasp of death. I may but bring my tribute 
of memory to cast with yours at the dead feet of one whose famil- 
iar form we shall see no more until we too shall pass — 

At God's commandment through the shadowy gates, 
To reach the sunlight of the eternal hills. 

The observance of ceremonies of this kind is not a recent cus- 
tom. The ancient Greeks and Romans were wont to gather about 
their fallen heroes and recount their virtues and the trophies they 
had won. Memorials in brass and marble, in undying verse and 
imperishable utterances, have comedown through all ages to inspire 
the ambition of youth and stir the pulses of manhood. More 
than three thousand years ago a monument was erected by divine 
direction, on the shores of the Jordan, of stone taken from the bed 
of the river where the feet of the priests had stood, which should 
be for a memorial unto Israel forever. And, sir, it is fitting that 
we should pause a brief moment, amid the absorbing caresof daily 
life, and mark the toot-prints of those who have attained a worthy 
prominence among men ; and while we weave a garland of flowers 
to deck tiie grave of our friend who has gone from among us, we 
should take note of those circumstances which press upon us the 
lesson of our own mortality and the claims of our spiritual nature. 

Dr. UPDEGRAFF was born in York, now called Updegraff, in 
Jefferson County, Ohio; was the son of David Updegraff, a min- 
ister of the Society of Friends, and a grandson of Nathan Upde- 



ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH D. TAYLOR, OF OHIO. 7 

graff, one of the framers of the first constitution of Ohio. His 
father moved to Ohio about the beginning of the present century, 
and of his eight children two only survive — David B. Updegraff, 
an eminent minister of the Society of Friends, who resides in 
Mount Pleasant and is the owner of a farm about a mile distant, 
where the Updegraff family have their burying-ground, and Mr-. 
Sarah Jenkins, who is a lady of culture and a prominent member of 
the same society. The devoted wife, whose kindly presence is well 
known in Washington circle-, still reside- with her two little boys 
at the family homestead in Mount Pleasant. Of hi- other chil- 
dren three survive him — two sons and a daughter, the eldest being 
Judge R. I). Updegraff, of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Dr. UfDEGRAFF's boyh 1 was -pent on his father'- (arm until 

his nineteenth year. He was educated in the common sehoolsand 
in Franklin College, one of tin- oldest and most respectable insti- 
tutions of learning in Ohio. Having chosen medicine as his pro- 
le—ion, lie entered the office of Dr. Haimer. of Mount Pleasant, 
completed his course, of studies, and graduated at the University 
of Pennsylvania. 

He began the practiceof medicine and surgeryat the early age of 
twenty-one, and soon became an eminent and successful physician. 
adding much to his reputation and usefulness by completing his 
studies, in 1851 and 1852, in the medical schools of Edinburghand 
Paris. Toward the close of th<' war. following still in the line of 
his profession, he served as a surgeon in the Union Army. 

In 1ST'-' he was Presidential elector in the electoral college which 
gavethevote of Ohio to General Grant. In 1872 and L 873 he 
was a member of the < )hio State senate. In 1873 he was tempo- 
rary president of the Republican State convention of Ohio. In 
1875 he was chairman of the State Republican central committee. 
In 187H he wa- a delegate to the national Republican convention 
at Cincinnati which nominated President Hayes. And in 1878 he 
received the Republican nomination for Representative to the 
Forty-sixth Congress and was triumphantly elected. He was re- 
nominated and re-elected two year- later to the present Congres-, 
and in October last, only a tew weeks prior to his decease, he was 



c! LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

re-elected to 1 1 1 < * Forty-eighth Congress. But Death, the inexor- 
able destroyer, cut liim down in the midst <><' his public career and 
in tin- zenith of his usefulness. 

His record in this House I shall leave for those who were asso- 
ciated with him here, and who can speak from a more intimate 
knowledge of his career since he became a member of Congress. 
I lis speeches upon education, temperance, agriculture, and the tariff, 
attracted the attention of the country, and greatly added to his 
popularity. His decision of character and unconquerable will 
made him a tower of strength in anything he undertook. When 
he once resolved to do a thing no power on earth could deter him. 
Opposition and obstacles which would induce most men to abandon 
an undertaking seemed only to inspire him with increased vigor. 
And hence it is no wonder that his ambitions were always gratified 
and his successes always assured. lie was a man of great indus- 
try and wonderful tenacity of purpose. 

His scholarly attainments, his extensive reading and travel, had 
given him breadth of thought ; and his contact with men had added 
a knowledge of human nature that aided his judgment and made 
him quick to grasp an idea and carry it out to its logical sequence. 

From an honored and liberty-loving ancestry he inherited an 
uncompromising haired of oppression in every form, and through 
all his life, public and private, he cherished a regard for the poor 
and the down-trodden, and whenever and wherever they needed a 
champion he was ready in their defense. 

He was active in the organization of the Republican party, and 
was its firm and faithful adherent through all his public life. In 
his own and in other State- he gave much time to the discus- 
sion of its principles. Among his most prominent characteris- 
tic- was his faithful allegiance to his friends, and especially to those 
whom he had known in his earlier years. And it may be men- 
tioned here, as one of the commendable features of human nature, 
that the friends of his youth, and those for whom he had been per- 
mitted, in the exercise of his large opportunity, to do acts of public 
and private favor, remained his firm ami steadfast friends through 



ADDRESS OF MR. .JOSEPH D. TAYLOR, OF OHIO. 9 

all the vicissitudes of political life, and stand to-day a sorrowing 
multitude around his fresh-made grave. And if there are those 
among his constituency who feel that their personal desires were 
overlooked, thev should remember that it was because it was im- 
possible for him to meet all the demands that were made upon him, 
ami not because of any indifference or neglect upon his part. 

With his strong and aggressive nature it was inevitable that the 
friction of political life should provoke some resentments, hut in 
the hottest contest lie was frank and open in his opposition, and 
never descended to that vindictive calumny so often resorted to bv 
those who manage tin 1 political campaigns incident to a Republic 
like ours. 

If he had fault and who has not? — let him who is without 

any cast the first -tune. There has never been but one perfectlife 
lived on earth, and faults and frailties are the common heritage of 
humanity. " But the grave covers every defect, extinguishes 

every resentment ; t'rnin it- peaceful bosoi meonly fond regrets 

and tender recollections." 

If we I'll-, in human blindness, 

And forget that we air dnst ; 
II we miss tlit- law of kindness 

When we struggle to be just, 
Snowy wings et peace shall cover 

All tin' pain that hides away, 
We shall knew each other better 

When the mists have cleared away. 

To the farmers of Eastern < mio hi- death comes with a sense 
of personal loss. He was long identified with that class of nature's 
noblemen, the honest labor of whose hands is hallowed bv the 
sacred promise of the < rod of Harvests, whose long line of descent 
runs back through the circling ages to the days of the patriarchs, 
and wild stand to-day throughout the length and breadth of our 
land, mi hillside and prairie, in sloping valley and blooming 
meadow, the coadjutors of a benign Providence, making the solitary 
places glad and "the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose." 

Dr. 0PDEGEAFF was nut a man to be lightly forgotten. His 
was ti"t a negative nature, to sink into oblivion when the grave 



10 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. U I'D EG RAFF. 

closes over it. His positive qualities stamped themselves too lej^i- 
lily upon the events of liis time to be losl sight of or ignored ; but 
in the sacred precincts of liis home, among the loving circle of 

kindred and friends, will the finer qualities of liis character find 
their most fragrant immortality. For nearly two years he suf- 
fered from the malady which resulted in his death, but he was uni- 
formly cheerful and bright, ami bore his sufferings, which were at 
times intense, with remarkable patience. No gloomy shadows 
hovered about his sick chamber. During the -ix week- of hi- con- 
finement to his room he arranged his business, received his friends, 
and a- the -cue- .if earth receded, he grasped with a tinner hold 
and a more triumphant faith the enduring realities of the life to 
.-..in.'. 

He was reared in the peace-loving principles of the Society of 
Friends, that noble denomination of Christians; who for more than 
two hundred year- have kept the simple tenor of their quiet way 
in the midst of the rushing din of the world's clashing conflicts, un- 
daunted by persecution, unspoiled by flattery, bearing with meek- 
ness alike the fury of fanatical hate and the seductiveness of worldly 
favor. 

In his la-t illness he gave much time and thought to the life that 
is beyond. He talked frequently of death and invited his-Chris- 
tian friends to read the Scriptures and pray with him. He realized 
better than his friends that his work was done and that the end was 
drawing nigh. A few day- before his death the people of his dis- 
trict were cheered by hopeful words from his family ami physicians, 
and many thought that he would certainly recover, but his strength 
was to. i nearly exhausted, and the vital currents of life ran too low 
to lie permanently rallied. While he had himself the gravest ap- 
prehensions of the result, he was anxious that nothing should be 
left undone that might afford a hope of benefiting him, yielding 
only when the inevitable wa- upon him. 

For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, 

This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned- 
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, 
Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind ? 



ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH D. TAYLOR, OF OHIO. 11 

Though clinging to life with all the vigor of a. strong ami suc- 
cessful man's interest in its activities, he yet faced death with a spirit 
of calm submission, ami breathed his last in the assured faith of 
immortality. 

His funeral was one of the largest and most impressive gather- 
ings that has been known in that part of the State. A solemnity 
brooded over the village of Mount Pleasant, a hush as of the still- 
ness of death. Emblems of mourning floated from every dwelling', 
places ofbusiuess wereclosed, flags draped in black swayed in the 
chill air. and every lace was tearful and sorrowing. Slowly the 
long procession, headed bj the < 'ongressioiial escort, moved out 
from the home he had loved, hearing the inanimate form of him 
who should return to it oo more. Upward of two thousand people 
gathered in the spacious Friends' meeting-house to take a last look 
at the features, lately so familiar, now stamped with the mysterious 
nobility of death. The beautiful burial casket bore upon its silver 
plate the word-: " Dr. -I. T. [Jpdegraff, died November 30, 1882, 
aged lit) years." 

Appropriate addresses were made, and he was laid away to rest 
in the burial-place of hi- fathers ami dose beside the play-ground 
of his boyhood. 

There the Bowers of spring will bloom in beauty above his 
sleeping dust. There the snows of winter will weave about his 
lowlj bed a covering of Spotless purity. The years will come and 
go; other feet will press the sod of his familiar home; time and 
change will write their inevitable legend upon all nature: the earth 
it-elf will shrivel and decay and the heavens he rolled together as 
a scroll, hut his immortal spirit will live when the universe -hall 
he no more and when time itself is a forgotten thing. 

The sun is but a spark of the. 

A transient meteor in the sky— 
The Soul, immortal as it- Sire, 

Shall never die! 



12 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 



Address of Mr. Atherton, of Ohio. 

Mr. Speaker: On the 30th day of November, 1882, the people 
of the United States, responding to Executive proclamation, were 
rendering thanksgiving and praise to the Giver of all good for the 
bounties and blessings of a most fruitful and prosperous year. 

In terrible contrast to the general rejoicing on that very day our 
brother whose life and virtues we pause to commemorate on lav a 
lied of suffering and death. 

His well-beloved family surrounded him with loving but suffer- 
ing hearts and fain would have snatched him from the grim mon- 
ster, luit all human aid and sympathy were powerless and unavail- 
ing, and in the early evening of that day he was released from his 
suffering and slept the quiet sleep of death. 

The sad news flashed over the wires while many of us were on 
i hi i- way to the national capital. 

Pursuant to the request of the Speaker of this House, and 
prompted by an earnest desire to pay a last tribute of respect to all 
that remained of our distinguished brother, I formed one of the 
number composing the Congressional delegation who attended his 

obsequies. 

Leaving Washington and passing the grand scenery of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio Railroad we in due time arrived at Wheeling. 

We there took carriages and crossing the Ohio River we ascended 
the glorious hills of my own native State. Arriving at the sum- 
mit a scene of beauty was spread out before us in magnificent pan- 
orama. 

On one side the Ohio River wound through the valley like "a 
ribbon of silver," and away beyond us were high hills and deep 
valleys decked with large and beautiful farm-houses and covered with 
the richest products of agricultural wealth. 

The whole scene illustrated the character of the inhabitants. In- 
dustry, virtue, and intelligence had joined together and laid their 



ADDRESS OF MS. ATHEIiTOS, OF OHIO. 13 

talismanic hands on the rugged liill- and covered them with prosper- 
ity ;iiid rural wealth. 

We moved on a few miles, and In,, kin- other miles ahead beheld 
a beautiful little village crowning the summit of a distant emi- 
nence, overlooking the country for a long distance on all sides. 

Crossing a deep vallej and making a slow and laborious ascenl 
weal last readied the town. It was Mount Pleasant, the life-long 
hnine of Dr. I 'I'UKi.i: \ri\ the home of his boyhood, of his profes- 
sional career, and his riper manhood. 

It- location, it- surroundings, the intelligence and virtue of its 
people, its proud elevation and pure atmosphere, its clean streets 
and grand perspective made it seem what its name imports, Mount 

Plea-ant. Almost ,m the summit of the town stood the home ot 

Dr. I 'iMUj.i; \ri . Large and com lious and yet attractive, 

erected for utility and comfort rather than display, it contained 
even mark of culture and refinement. 

In this little hamlet of perhaps three hundred inhabitants stands 
an immense church, of unique design, capable of seating two thou- 
sand inhabitants or many time- the whole aber of the residents 

of the village. It belongs to a denomination of Christians that 
discard the fashions and "haberdashery" of the world and yet con- 
tain more of the essence of real benevolence, goodness, and pure 
religion than any other — the Society of Friends. 

of this church Dr. Updegraff was a member, and in that 
church his funeral was preached and the last honor- paid to the 
lamented ami illustrious dead. 

To that church the teeming inhabitants of all that region wended 
their way to pay a parting tribute of respect to a citizen who, when 
living, was most illustrious, most loved, and when dead the most 
lamented. 

I have given this hasty and imperfect sketch of the home and 
surroundings of our In-other not without a purpose. It reflects the 
character of the man. Who could arrive at social, professional, 
and political distinction with such surroundings and breathing such 

an atmosphere without honesty, truth, true manh 1, and a high 

order of intelligence ? There was no place there tin- the sluggard, 



14 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

the vicious, or even the man of mere selfish ambition. He would 
necessarily breathe purity from the clear air and acquire industry 
from the busy scenes. He would imbibe true religion from both 
the precept and daily example of those surrounding him who be- 
lieve in and practice honesty and religion seven days in the week 
instead of one. 

The life and character of Dr. Updegraff illustrated the benefi- 
cence and value of his fortunate surroundings. He was born 
without great wealth and at the same time free from the privations 
and rigors of poverty. His birthright of fortune was the golden 
mean. It furnished him with a full opportunity and means to suc- 
cessfully pursue the study of his chosen profession without alluring 
him into the tortuous paths of vice or dissipation. He selected the 
practice of medicine and surgery as his life-work. He studied it 
faithfully and with great success in America and in the schools ot 
Edinburgh and Paris. He practiced it with great honor to himself 
and profit to his people. 

But eminence in his profession did not fill the measure of his 
honorable ambition. 

He entered the political arena. He worthily represented a con- 
stituency in the senate of Ohio, when his talents made him a con- 
spicuous member. He was elected to the Forty-sixth and Forty- 
seventh Congresses, and, after the most memorable and exciting con- 
test for lvnomination ever known in the political history of Ohio, 
was at the end triumphantly reindorsed and re-elected to the Forty- 
eighth ( ongress. 

At the date of his death he was in the very zenith of his pros- 
perity and usefulness. He had served long enough in Congress t,, 
have gained reputation and a position of influence. He had passed 
the period of Congressional probation and had just arrived at the 
point where he could demand a hearing and be valuable to his con- 
stituency. 

He had one session of the present Congress before him assured 
and a whole Congress besides. 

He had already left his mark on the legislation of the country. 
On matters relating to agriculture he was authority. While his 



ADDRESS OF MR. ATHERTON, OF OHIO. 15 

past Congressional life had been largely probationary, the coming- 
time was the promised years of fruition. 

Touching his life-work I do not intend, if I could, to deal in 
glittering eulogism, but -imply to state the tacts as they appear to 
me. 

He was industrious and faithful to his noble profession, with a 
conscious regard to his duties and responsibilities, as one who as- 
sumes t<> assist nature in restoring from sickness to health the won- 
derful organism of man. He sought faithfully and diligently all 
that modern learning and science unfolds, both as to the cause of 
'human ailments and the remedy for human ills. How well he 
succeeded the mourning thousands who flocked to his funeral and 
lamented bis death will bear witness. 

When he entered politics he pursued a like course, lie faithfully 
conned anew both the fundamental and statute law of his country. 
He earnestly studied the philosophy of proposed Legislation. In 

the discussions of the last sessi the tariff question, physician 

as he was, a comparatively new memberashe also was, he so treated, 
and discussed tlii- important but threadbare subject that he ar- 
rested the attention of the country ; and (as I know from a modest 
statement from his own lips) the first copies of any document ordered 
for distribution by the Congressional committee of his party for that 
year, were 10,000 copies of thai speech. It was a manly, noble, 
earnest, and eloquent effort. It displayed deep thought and great 
power of penetration. As old a- the subject was, as much as it had 
undergone discussion by the master minds of the ripest statesmen 
of the world in some points of view and in some of its phases at 
least, ii seemed dearer by bis discussion of it. Certainly no better 
exposition of the question from hi- stand-point was ever addressed 
to or more fully brought within the comprehension of the common, 
untrained mind. Its clearness of statement and its lucid logic con- 
tributed largely to that end. 

I hclieve our deceased brother to have been thoroughly bonesl 
and incorruptible. Although his very antipode on most political 
i [ueations, I always believed his real pi »wer as a speaker arose largely 
from the thoroughly honest conviction he brought to the discussion 



lf> LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFJF. 

of all questions. He always spoke and acted from what to him 
were the very promptings of truth. 

But at the very noonday of his success and usefulness disease 
laid its heavy hand upon him. With the monster he battled man- 
fully. Delusive hope held out to his imagination the benison of re- 
turning health. In the midst of the most painful disease came the 
period of renomination. Others coveted his place. Hoping for 
health and battling with pain and agony, he made his memorable 
campaign. His resolution was undaunted. 

One convention was called, and after a contest lasting for days 
dissolved. It was the doctor against the field. He could not be 
nominated nor could he be defeated. The delegates surrendered 
their power- to the people and relegated the question to them. New 
primaries were held, new delegates selected, a new convention as- 
sembled, and with unconquerable resolution he and his devoted 
friends continued the battle and at last victory perched on their ban- 
ners. He was elected to the next Congress against all opposition. 

But there was an enemy that no human resolution could conquer 
and no human power withstand. Cruel and insatiate he visits the 
palace and the hovel, he knocks impartially at the gates of the rich 
and the poor, and strikes down the high and the low. The dread 
reaper reaps the stocks of the ripened golden grain, "and spares not 
the flowers that grow between." 

.My memory reverts to the memorable word I heard so ofl re- 
peated in the quaint old Quaker church at Mount Pleasant : 

"God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perforin." 

How they now echo in the chambers of memory ! 

In the mysterious dispensation of His providence, for reasons hid- 
den from the wisdom of man but of the highest wisdom when 
viewed in the light of that intelligence that spans all time and all 
space, the Master permitted the reaper to come. Our brother was 
not unprepared. The visions of earthly ambition vanished, the 
brighl hope of future achievement melted into air, but in their stead 
he saw the dawning light of blissful eternity. The sun of that 



ADDRESS OF MR. MoK INLET, OF OHIO. 1 1 

Thanksgiving Day went down in darkness. All the morning 
seemed to bring to earthly eyes was death, a coffin, and a shroud ; 
but let us hope as well we may — 

"That when the sun, in all his state, 
Illumed the eastern skies 
He passed through glory's moi uiug-gate 
And walked in Paradise.'' 



Address of Mr. McKinley, of Ohio. 

Mr. Speaker: T cannot permit this occasion to pass without 
arresting the attention of the House to bear testimony to the worth 
of my departed friend. "There is nothing certain in man's life but 
this, that he must lose it." Jonathan T. Updegraff, who par- 
ticipated in the deliberations of this House at its first session, and 

who last August parted c pany with hi- associates in robust health 

and full intellectual strength, is dead. I will notdetainthe House 
with a history of his early life and public achievements ; these have 
been fully recited by hi- successor [Mr. Taylor] and others who 
have preceded me, more in detail and better than I could possibly 
do. I -hall content myself with a brief statement of some of the 
features of his personal character which impressed me during an 
acquaintance of many years. 

Tn public station, whether in State or national affairs, he was 
respected and h red ; in private life, beloved by a large and in- 
fluential circle of friends. He was simple in his habits and tastes, 
strong in his friendships, tender and devoted in his family rela- 
tions, generous and confiding in his nature, firm and unyielding in 
hi- conviction- of duty, lie hated -hams and despised preten- 
-ion-, and his simple nature esteemed candor and sincerity aliove 
everything else. He regarded any labor or sacrifice for principle 
a religious duty, and he would go out of his way to help a friend. 

He had the advantage of early and thorough instruction, and 

through hi- whole lit'e was an apt student of men and affairs. 

He wa.s literary in his tastes, fond of the best books and best 

thoughts, old and new, and his Ulnars at home evidenced the dis- 

0171 2 



18 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

cerning hand of a man of culture. He was interested in general 
education; not the technical merely, but that broad and enlight- 
ened instruction which makes good men and intelligent and self- 
respecting citizens. 

He was well equipped for the trust to which an admiring peo- 
ple elevated him in 1878. Possessed of great intellectual force, ripe 
attainments, experience in public matters, and integrity of character, 
he was splendidly prepared for public life and official trust. He 
was a positive man — a nature full of convictions and with a cour- 
age t<> utter them. He therefore had his antagonism-, and was Dpi 
without opposition in his own party ranks, hut these were fully 
compensated by the devotion and steadfastness of friends by 
whom he was always surrounded, and whose loyalty to him 
never lagged and whose devotion never abated. In this House 
he was a careful, studious, painstaking, intelligent Represent- 
ative, seldom, if ever, absent from his post of duty, watching 
with interest and intelligence the course and effect of legislation; 
and while hedid not often participate in debate, he never spoke 
without adding something to the subject under discussion. 

He was a staunch friend and an earnest advocate of the agricul- 
tural interests of the country, and to him we are indebted, in a 
large degree, for some of the best legislation of tin- past four years 
touching that interest. A farmer himself, he knew- their needs, 
and uever hesitated to advocate and enforce them. He was closely 
identified with the agricultural interests of his State, and his fre- 
quent addresses upon that subject made him well and favorably 
known, and gave him a high place among that large and intelli- 
gent class of citizens. His most notable speech on the floor of 
this House during his four years of service, and the one which 
will be most remembered, was made at the first session of the pres- 
ent Congress on the general subject of the tariff. That speech was 
comprehensive and statesmanlike, and elicited deserved applause 
from hi> associates and the country at large. It was circulated in 
large editions in many of the States, and proved a valuable contri- 
bution to the volumes of tariff debates. 

Large-minded, unselfish, and generous, he commanded the re- 
Spect and esteem of both sides of this chamber ; men of all parties 



ADDRESS OF MR. WILLIS, OF KENTUCKY. \\) 

believed in his honesty of purpose and fidelity to convictions, :ui<l 
we all miss him from these halls. 

He was a member of the Friends' Society, and conspicuous in 
thai strong and influential body of Christians. They, too, will 
miss him. His own friends and fellow-townsmen cannot supply 
his place. The love of his neighbors was demonstrated on the oc- 
casion of his funeral ; every business house in his village was closed ; 
token- of love and sorrow were -ecu on every hand ; every house 
bore its badges of mourning. The little village of Mount Pleasant 
was strewn with the emblems of sorrow . and the neighborhood as- 
sembled without distinction of sect or party to pay a final tribute 
to their deceased friend, brother, neighbor, representative. 

During his illness the nobleness of his character appeared at its 
best. Uncomplainingly he suffered, and so sensitive tin- the feel- 
ings of his friends that hedenied most of them presence in his sick 
chamber lest hi- suffering might give them pain. He was patient 
and brave in his great affliction, submitting with Christian faith to 
the call of (hath. I [e closed his life with nic-smc- of love -to pre- 
sent and absent friend-, confident of friendly greetings beyond from 
those « ho had passed on before. From one « ho was nearest to him 
1 learn that lie daily and hourly repeated the wordsof the Psalmist : 
"'I'll'- Lord has chastened me sore, but He hath not given me over unto death. 

Open to me the gates of right m»«: I will go into them and praise the 

Lord." 

The nursing of a devoted wife could not savehim. The prayers 
of friend- could not restore him. 

''God's finger tonched liim and he slept.'' 
The gates were opened and he entered in. 



Address of Mr. Willis, of Kentucky. 

Mr. SPEAKEB : We pause to-day in the midst of busy duties to lav 
the laurel wreath of memory and affection upon tin- grave of a de- 
parted colleague. 

Half a year ago, at our midsummer adjournment, 1 parted with 
Dr. rpDKORAFF in this hall. Erect in form, of strong physical 



20 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

constitution, and the most temperate habits, glowing with health and 
vigor, length of days seemed to be as surely his as if held by a bond 
to fate. We exchanged friendly words of good-will and of fare- 
well, and separated with the mutual hope that we would soon "meet 
again." 

But a few short months had passed; t lie green meadows upon the 
high and fertile plateaus which encircle his far-off Western home 
were vet fresh and beautiful when we did "meet again." But how 
sadly changed, how different the circumstances from what we had 
hoped. The heart whose generous ministrations had won my regard 
and the regard of all who knew him had ceased to beat ; the hand, open 
as day to " sweet charity," whose warm grasp I had so recently re- 
laxed, was cold and pulseless; the voice whose persuasive eloquence 
had SO often charmed was mute forever; after a brief but painful 
illness Dr. Updegraff had answered the solemn and mysterious 
sum ns, and joined the "pale nations of the dead." 

Dead in the vigor of his manhood and in the hour of his greatest 
political triumph ; dead in the bosom of his family; dead in the 
midst of faithful friends and admiring fellow-citizens. 

Dead, did I say ? And yet has not the poet well and truly de- 
clared — 

To live in hearts we leave behind 
Is not to die. 

And to quote the chaste and eloquent words of Dr. Updegraff 
himself: 

Is not influence immortal 1 .Shall not a worthy example, a true thought, 
a nobleact, no matterhow humbly born, wear its life and do its work through 
all the years to come. It was a beautiful thought of a great scientist that 
every sound which ever stirred the air went on vibrating to eternity. It is 
true, at least, of all moral and spiritual forces. 

Never did I realize more fully the -truth and beauty of these 
words than when, as a member of the funeral cortege, I gathered 
with his friends and loved ones at the bier of him who spoke them. 
When I witnessed the deep sense of personal bereavement which 
pervaded that circle audtheentire community — how the humble cot- 
tage and the little workshop, as well as the more stately mansion, 
were robed in the habiliments of sorrow ; when I heard there and 



ADDRESS OF MR. WILLIS, OF KENTUCKY. 21 

everywhere the tender and appreciative words which came from 
full hearts, I felt that though dead be yet liveth. The golden bowl 
of a true and noble life may be broken, bul the gentle virtues, the 
kindly deeds, and great purposes which have filled it with beauty 
and value will remain, and, like incense from an altar, will sweeten 
and consecrate the air, and that, too, for unnumbered years. 

What those virtues were — what the noble ends which marked the 
career of l>r. (JPDEORAPP, and what the means by which he se- 
emed those ends, I might here give iu detailed particularity. I 
might speak of him as a man. emit is, amiable, brave, and gen- 
erous ; as a citizen, full of energy, enterprise, and patriotism ; as a 
public servant, repeatedly honored with the responsibilities of high 
station and always upright, conscientious, and faithful to the trust. 
1 might refer to various measures with which he was identified here 
and elsewhere a- illustrative of his broad, liberal, generous states- 
manship. As a Representative of that pari of ourcountrv most 
vitally affected, I might especially mention his active and intelli- 
gent support, a- a member of the < lommitfa u Epidemic I »iseases, 

in behalf of the hill to prevent the introduction and spread of yel- 
low fever — -that fearful pestilence which "walketh in darkness and 

destroyeth at noonday," whose nsuming breath has destroyed go 

many of the bravest and best of our land. 

Nor would I forget hi- equally earnest and unselfish efforts, as 
chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, to secure 
the passage by Congress of the bill to prevent the growth and 
spread among our people of ignorance — that curse more enduring 
in its effects and more blighting to the happiness and prosperity of 
a country than either war or pestilence. For his supporl of these 
two measure- alone Dr. CJPDEORAPF will always be held in the 
grateful remembrance of our people a- a benefactor and wise law- 
maker. Such legislation redounds to the best interests of the whole 
Union ; it hears "healing upon it:- wings" for political as well as 
physical ills, and will ever be welcomed by our people as the mes- 
senger of fraternal atli-ction —the witness of enlightened, generous 
statesmanship. 

But it is not my purpose to recount at length the virtues and char- 
acteristics of our lamented associatx — they are known to his friends 
and to fame — they have been embalmed in our memory by the 



22 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEORAFF. 

affectionate hands of his immediate colleagues. 1 could not, if* I 
would, add a single line to the tender and beautiful, Imt most accu- 
rate, portraiture they have placed before us to-day. But their voice 
nor mine can "provoke the silent dust," or "soothe the dull, cold 
car of death." Fortunate, however, will each of us be if we shall 
so imitate the virtues which adorned his life that when death comes 
we may be, like him — " at rest " — until our freed spirits awaken to 
the pure light and blissful seines of immortality beyond the grave. 
And how soon, Mr. Speaker, to all of us will that unseen world 
l>e revealed? How often during the past year, unbidden and un- 
heralded, has the weird spirit of the glass and scythe entered this 
hall. Hardly a month has passed that the half-masted Hag and the 
vacant chair, clad in its " vestments of woe," have not reminded 
us that another colleague had heard his dread summons and gone 
hence forever. Since the Forty-seventh Congress convened eight 
of these United States have stood as mourners around the open 
graves of their chosen representatives. How suggestive this of the 
uncertainty, the instability, the utter helplessness of life and of life's 
highest hopes and dearest ambitions. And how solemn the ad- 
monition so to discharge our duties here as tosecure the rewards of 
the great hereafter. 

Yes, the shores of life are shifting 

Every year, 
And we lire seaward drifting 

Every year, 
Old places, changing, fret us. 
The living more forget us 

Every year. 

But the truer life draws nigher 

Every year, 
And its morning star climbs higher 

Every year, 
Earth's hold on us grows slighter 
And the heavy burden lighter. 
And the dawn immortal brighter 

Every year. 



ADDRESS OF MR. SKINNER, OF NEW YORK. 23 



Address of Mr. Skinner, ofNew York. 

Mr. Speakeb : The summons which must sooner or later come 
to us all has again been heard, and this occasion reminds us anew 
how trail is our hold upon that strange thing called life. Once 
more this great department .it' the * rovernment stops its accustomed 
work, the ponderous wheels of legislation cease their revolutions, 
and we gather here to pay fitting tribute to the memory and to 
speak kind words of a brother who has finished his work and gone 
home. 

Bui yesterday these halls resounded with the inharmonious tones 

of excited discussion. There was the hurried confusi f heated 

debate, the almost angry conflict of party strife, the bus) commin- 
gling of contrary opinions, and the earnest grappling for personal 
or party advantage. Words wen' nut at all times rounded with 
charity or good will. 

To-day there is the invisible presence of a spirit all al i us 

which hide- the excitement of partisan feeling, and words of pas- 
sion pass away in the hush of sympathy and in the memory of 
grief. 

Kind words alone are spoken uow, tempered by feeling only; 
words which seek to paint on invisible canvas the virtues of a well- 
spenl life, words of praise for the honoied dead, of consolation to 
living. 

1 low often in reading the eloquent eulogies which have been pro- 
nounced in this chamber have we wished they could have been 
heard by the living ears of those who have gone. Alas, too often 
we wait until our friends have left us forever before we tell their 
virtues. And we ofttimes wonder if the words here spoken will 
have life beyond their utterance. May we not hope that like the 
fragrance distilled from the flowers, which floats upward on the 
balmy air, like incense from the burning oil, they will rise into the 
celestial region of eternal rest and reach the ear of him we mourn, 
who sits near the great white throne and sends us hack greetings of 
gratitude and brotherly love. 



24 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

Those who knew Dr. Updegraff best in life, who followed his 
public career with the interest which close friendship imparts, who 
were associated with him in fraternal intercourse, who knew him as 
a public servant in his own great State, have fittingly told of his 
busj life and how well he lived it. Those to whom his friendship 
was just unfolding as a new possession, who were learning to value 
his acquaintance as something to be treasured among pleasant mem- 
ories, who could see and admire the ability, the industry, and the 
intelligence which he threw into his work among us — those who 
were the recipients of his cordial greetings and kindly advice, can 
only hope to lay a small tribute of regard upon this altar of good 
will. It is not the length of man's friendship which gives it value ; 
it is, rather, the life-long impressions which it plants and the good 
thai grows out of it. A few months were sufficient to impress one 
with the height and breadth of Dr. Updegraff's culture and worth. 
They will live far beyond the life of the man, to inspire those who 
felt the influence of his example and who learned the true worth of 
the precepts which always governed his actions. It wasa grand 
thing to know such a man and to count him a friend. 

It was a privilege to visit the place where he lived and died. 
Over the mountains to a pretty village went one December day those 
who had been designated by you, Mr. Speaker, to participate in the 
funeral ceremonies as representatives of this body. There were seen 
the beautiful village wearing the garb of mourning at the loss of a 
respected citizen ; a stricken household, where wile, children, and 
relatives gathered in mutual grief, and bemoaned the lost love of a 
husband, father, and brother; a church tilled with sad faces of 
Friends who had lost a friend indeed; a community mingling its 
tears together at the death of one who hail made the world better 
for his living. 

There were heard the glowing mv\ affectionate tributes of pastor 
ami friends paid to the finished life and character of him whom we 
m 'ii to-day — the testimony paid to his virtues and varied accom- 
plishments of mind and heart by those who knew him so well, and 
ai Ig whom he had steadily grown in strength, influence, useful- 
ness, and honor. The tears which followed these testimonies to his 
worth spoke as eloquently as the words from the lips. There was 



ADDRESS OF MR. SKINNER, OF NEW YORK. 25 

universal proof of the loss which family, and village, and State, and 
country had sustained. An upright man, an earnest Christian, an 
enterprising citizen, and an honest public servant had gone to his 
reward. En the record he had made for himself we know — 

He wore the white flower of u blameless life. 

Just as the Congress in which he had already proved his useful- 
ness was about opening it- second session the last honors were being 
paid our departed friend. After a hard struggle with a mighty pain 
lie lay at rest in a peaceful sleep which has no waking this side the 
shores of the dark river. 

Nearly fifty year- ago these words were spoken in the halls of 
( !ongress of one whose work had just ended. They seem to lie tit- 
ting now: 

Mis name should l»- Ins epitaph ; and however blank it may appear to the 
vacant eye of the passing stranger, it will always have the power to call up 
the recollections of his virtues in the bosom of friendship and the tear of un- 
dissembled sorrowin the eye of affection— offerings more grateful and con- 
genial to the disembodied .spirit than the proudest monument which human 
art can erect or tin' st studied eulogy which human eloquence can pronounce. 

Dr. I * i ■ i »i:< ; i: \ i i left his impress upon tin- House ; he left it upon 
the world, [t was always for good; and is there not a creed which 
holds that nothing good is ever lost '.' [s not his influence still over 
and about u- '.' 1- not the example of upright life and earnest action 
eternal — always pressing lot-ward to the accomplishment of noble 
purposes? We know that he held this belief. In an address de- 
livered before the young ladies of the Steubenville Female Academy 
a lew years ago his theme was " A Purpose in Life," and he gave 
expression to the following graceful thoughts: 

It your life shall have a true and noble purpose it shall so enlarge your ca- 
pacity for enjoyment that your deeper joys shall contrast with the mere 
pleasures Of youth as the rapture of a seraph is higher than the prattling 
laughter of a child. The joy of a conscious dedication to some worthy 
wort exalts the whole being. It makes plain the beautiful thought of an 
eastern fable: "I was common i lay till roses were planted in me." An abso- 
lute consecration to a put pose becomes inspiration and commands victory. 

In speaking of influence he said : 

In the immortality of influence there are no trifles. A worthy example, a 
Hue thought, a noble act, no matter how humbly born, shall wear its life and 



26 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UI'DFGItAFF. 

do its work through all the years to come. It was a beautiful thought of a 
great scientist that every sound which ever stirred the air went on vibrating 
to eternity. It is true at least of all moral and spiritual forces. 

In closing his address lie makes this beautiful wish ami prayer, 
almost prophetic of the eternal joys which now must be his own : 

May life in the nobleness of its purp ises, in the beneficence of its results, 
in the richness and glory of its rewards lie for each of you only lit prelude and 
preparation for the ineffable fruition of chaugless joys. 

To those of us who remain, occasions like this may well seem 
like admonitions. To-day our brother sleeps. It is we who speak. 
To-morrow our lips may be silent and other voices speak as we are 
speaking. In the lottery of death there are no blanks. 

It is a part of life to mourn. Death is a rest in peace. Those 
who live must grieve. Those who leave us have no sorrows. With 
them till is over ami the eternal problem solved. 

Unless we anchor our hopes in the hereafter we find the sum of 
earthly happiness borne <h>\\ u by its sorrows. This is only one sad 
chapter in life's history. The dread moment is sure to come when 
the happiuess of a life-time melts away in one sad hour. Yester- 
day it was the child just unfolding into the beautiful mysteries of 
life, aud whose death breaks our hearts and spoils our lives. To- 
day it is the middle-aged, just ready to reap the fruit ripening un- 
der his culture ; to-morrow the aged go, full of years and useful- 
ness, whose light goes not out in darkness but burns to the socket 
in a well-rounded life. 

Our friend is dead. And yet what is death ".' 

To live in hearts we leave behind 
Is not to die. 

Whether we shall see him face to face in that undiscovered cou nt ry ; 
whether we shall know him there as we knew him here; whether 
body and soul separate here to be again united "over there;" whether 
that better lite is a commingling of kindred spirits, while the body 
returns to dust ; whether it is all of life to live or all of death to 
die ; whether his pure soul is hovering around us still or marching 
on to glories which we c; t see, and which with him are just be- 
gun, are problems which we shall all solve inGod's good time. 

Until then it is happiness to trust, that we shall all live again. 



ADDRESS OF MR. NEAL, OF OHIO. 27 

With us, as with his loving family, it is a blessed hope, a comfort- 
ing belief, yes, a happy conviction, thai it is not all of death to die, 
that it is but an entrauee into eternal life. To those who are smithed 
by this '• unfaltering trust " — 

There is no death ! What seems so is transition. 

This lite of mortal breath 
Is but a suburb of tin- lift- elysian 

Whose portal we call Death! 



Address of Mr. Neal, of Ohio. 

Mr. Speaker : " Earth to earth, dust to dnst, ashes to ashes." 
Thus all that was mortal of our late associate, colleague, and friend, 
Dr. JONATHAN T. UpDEGRAPF, was by his bereaved family, sor- 
rowing friends, and neighbors who thus did homage to his private 
virtues and public worth, consigned to the dark and silent tomb, the 
final resting place of all the races of mankind. 

I shall not attempt to make any extended statement of his life 
and public services. < >thers who have known him longer and more 
intimately than I, have already discharged that loving, yet melan- 
choly, duty most appropriately and eloquently. Suffice it, then, 
for me to say that the distinguished deceased parted from us upon 
the adjournment of the first session of tins Congress in August 
last, full of life, in the expectation of a pleasant sojourn at his 
country home which he loved so well, during the brief vacation in- 
tervening before the commence nt of the present session of the 

Forty-seventh Congress. 

Like all of us, he confidently expected to return hither and per- 
form his part in the great and important work of legislating for 
thr -V 1,1 »()( >,ooo of human beings who now inhabit the territory of 
this free and mighty Federal Republic, happily once again united, 
not only by the strong bonds of law and order, hut the still stronger 
one- of patriotic allegiance, fidelity, and love, from the pine-clad 
forest- of the North to the everglades of the South, from the rock- 
hound coast of the Hast to the Golden Grate of the West. 

There was no outward appearance of the insidious disease which 



28 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. VPDEGRAFF. 



was even then preying upon bis vitals. No one of his 

upon this floor, I apprehend, had any suspicion that the great enemy, 

or shall I say friend, of the human race, Death, had then selected him 

for his own, and ere the expiration of ninety days would take him 

hence. On th< ntrary, many of us would gladly have exchanged 

his chances of earthly existence for our own. How our expecta- 
tions perish ! How our hopes are disappointed ! Behold him, the 
strong man, the man of heart and brain, the man with the mind to 
conceive, the will to dare, and the hand to execute; the man of 
force and of action, animated by every high and holy aspiration, 
controlled by every right impulse, cut down in the meridian of an 
active and useful life, with his armor girt upon him, and, sword in 
hand, battling manfully for the right. Once again we are reminded 
that the battle is not to the strong nor the race to the swift. But 
death is not an eternal sleep, a never-ending, always enduring 
Nirvana; it is rather the approaching of our night to be followed 
by a day more brilliant, the fading of the transient flower of our 
life, that it may rebloom in another world of joy resplendent and 
of happiness supernal. 

Cicero, the wise, grand man of ancient Rome in her golden days 
of history, philosophy, and of poetry — one of the world's most sin- 
cere seekers after truth and after God, in contemplating this inter- 
esting subject of bodily dissolution thus discourses: "Some men 
make womanish complaints that it is a great misfortune to die be- 
fore one's time. I would ask what time? Is it that of nature? 
But she indeed has lent us life as we do a sum of money, only no 
certain day is fixed for payment, What reason then to complain 
if -he demands it at pleasure, since it was on this condition we re- 
ceived it." 

It was thus our friend died. Not with blenched cheek, with un- 
manly fear in his heart, dreading to meet the King of Terrors face 
to face; but fearlessly, as the brave man dies who has performed 
well bis part, saying in his heart, if not by voice, " It is the will 
of God; 1 1 is will lie done." 

No doubt he loved life, as we all love it. This beautiful world, 
with its green fields and blooming flowers, was attractive to him, as 
it is to every well-ordered person who lives a true life. He could 



ADDRESS OF MR. BVTTERWORTH, OF OHIO. 29 

look upon the past without blushing for time unprofitably spent, 
or charging himself with having been slothful or insincere; and 
the future was glowing with bright hopes and high expectations. 
Why, then, should he not have desired to linger longer in his earthly 
tabernacle? When death came — 

'• It was to liim but as another HtV. 
We bow our beads at getting out : 
We think, and enter strait 
Another golden chamber of the King's; 
Larger than tins we leave, and lovlier, 
And then in sliadowy glimpses disconnect. 
The story, flower-like, doses (bus its leaves, 
And God is all iu all.'' 

Mr. Speaker, our late friend and associate has disappeared for- 
ever from our earthly view. We shall see him no more with mortal 
vision. If our lives are as earnest, sincere, truthful, and useful as 
hi- was, we will go to him. He conies no more to us; but while 
forever gone he will not be forgotten, tor in the ocean of memory 
there i- :m island upon whose shores the wave- beat with ceaseless 
roar. 



Address of Mr. Butterworth, of Ohio. 

Mr. SPEAKER. We are charged to speak nothing but good of the 
dead. I doubt the merit of that maxim. It draws no line between 
those lives that were worthy and those that were barren waste-. 

But if the maxim is wise and humane, the life and character of 
Dr. Updegraff were such that we would not invoke the shield 
which an observance of the maxim might afford. 

He was one oftho.se who well might challenge even his enemies 
to scan his record closely, released from the restraints of the char- 
itable maxim mentioned, and speak nothing but the truth. 

If our late colleague could have left an injunction which should 
bind those who speak of him here to-day, it would have been, 
" Speak of me as I was. Speak of me as you knew me. Say the 
truth or say nothing." A worthy life may challenge praise, while 



30 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JOS A III AX T. UPDEGRAFF. 

that one which presents to the world a desert waste is entitled only 
to the charity of silence. Men's vires teach as well as their virtues, 

and it' we must learn from each let the instruction be such as may 
give profit. For a single moment I will speak of Dr. I'i-di;- 
okai'K as I knew him, as I think he was. 

I knew him well; bis strong points and his weaknesses; his 
manner of study and his mode of thought. He first squared his 
purpose to the requirements of a clean, clear conscience. The work 
his judgment and his conscience approved he addressed himself to 
with a will inflexible and unyielding. He resolved all doubts in 
favor of the end he sought. He did nothing rashly, but all things 
with care. He never recognized the possibility of discomfiture or 
defeat. He considered carefully before he acted; hut once em- 
harked in an enterprise lie seldom failed to accomplish what he 
undertook. Strong in will power, great in moral courage, he had 
no patience with cowardice, and held the vacillating in contempt. 

He was of a race that possessed those great qualities of serious 
earnestness and dogged continuity of purpose which characterized 
the Dutch and made that people more than a match for the tower- 
ing strength and boundless resources of Spain at the zenith of her 
glory and power. He was unpretending in his life and manner. 
He was the embodiment of thoughtfulness, of earnestness, and en- 
ergy. Eis natural endowments were excellent ; his mental furnish- 
ings suggestive of strength and usefulness, rather than grace and 
ornament. 

He was, while serious and reflective, a wit, and when in the so- 
ciety of congenial friends a most delightful conversationalist. He 
was a careful student. He never wasted a minute reading or coin- 
ing a sentence that was barren of mental nourishment. He was 
very fond of studying the English classics. He read over and over 
again the works of Bacon and Macaulay ; was especially charmed 
with the style of the latter. UPDEGRAPF never read a line which 
contained or suggested some great thought that he did not commit 
it to memory. His mind was a storehouse well tilled, nor would 
an examination of that store reveal the waste and rubbish that is 
found in the invoice and effects of C I minds. He obtained 



ADDRESS OF MR. 1WTTERW0RTII, OF OHIO. 31 

knowledge for use, and as the foundation of wisdom unto which he 
was -rowing. 

In the storeliou.se of his mind lie was methodical. Every faet 
lie learned, every utterance he treasured up in his memory, every 
thought lie cherished, wa- ever at his command and available to 
grace his conversation or strengthen his argument. He studied 
history 1'— to ascertain the facts recited than to learn the philoso- 
phy they teach. The labor of his life was to attain for himself and 
mankind to the better things, to improve the conditions with which 
he was surrounded, to lift men up to a higher and more rational 
plane of enjoyment. His disposition to have the better things was 
apparent in all that he did, even in the corn he raised and the cattle 
he cared for. 

He wa- frank and candid, sometimes painfully so, and his honest 
and forcible manner of stating plain truths tended to write him 
down a- an iiiiainialilc man. True it is that he had little patience 
with that disposition of society which is so much concerned about 
the -races of social intercourse that it prefers polite insincerity to 
blunt candor, and rather tolerate- polished hypocrisy than plain, 
plodding truth. 

UpDEGBAFF was honest . stubbornly honest. It was a rugged 
honesty that did not wear away by use, as much of modern hon- 
esty docs. His integrity was for all times, all places and occasions, 
such as could ride out the storm of temptation even with rasping 
poverty for its companion. How much our country needs that 
type of honesty! I say this because it must be apparent that in 
our day there are more who are worshiping with Aaron the golden 
calf at the foot of the mountain than are in spirit with Moses at the 
top worshiping the true God. 

No man could mistake Dr. Updegraff's honesty for that too 
prevalent and all-pervading spirit of accommodation which leaves 
no margin between that which is right and that which is purely 
expedient. Neither in his public nor his private life did he do or 
sanction that which tended to blur, much less obliterate, the line that 
marks the boundary between right and wrong. He was a fearless 
champion of the former. He never compromised with the latter. 

The consequence to him of profit or loss, of preferment or defeat. 



32 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

formed no important factor in shaping his conduct in the matter of 
recognizing and discharging his just moral obligations. He knew 
that "Duty is ours, results are God's." 

When the path of duty led away from that of profit or pleasure 
he never hesitated. With him duty was supreme. He was a suc- 
cessful business man. He was successful as a physician, successful 
as an agriculturist, successful as a politician ; for in all those call- 
ings he had the elements which insure success, the qualities I have 
mentioned. He always took aim; had no confidence in luck. He 
said success was for him who deserved it. His faculties and pow- 
ers matured slowly but healthfully. He was stronger at fifty 
than at forty-five. He was not of the type of that school of men 
who ripen early and then rot. 

In religion he was a "Friend," called in common parlance 
a Quaker. His connection with that society threw us much to- 
gether. His membership in the society had ceased, hut he was still 
in the faith. And the injunction of that religion to " walk in the 
light" was ever present with him. "Walk in the light" was the 
injunction of our fathers. Dr. UPDEGRAFF did not forget it, 
having faith that his way would lie lighted by the spark of divinity 
within him. 

His philosophy taught him that this life is but the beginning, 
not the end; that after death he would open his eyes in another 
sphere of existence. In that faith he lived ; in that faith he died. 

His thoughts were clean and his language fitly chosen. He 
appreciated the power of right words. He scorned flattery and 
despised flatterers. He was not slow to rebuke the fawning syco- 
phancy that would pay him compliment to win his favor. He was 
sincere and constant in his friendship and too outspoken in his 
enmity. He was a stoic in many things. He suffered the most 
acute pain for many months before his death, but no ear heard a 
murmur escape his lips. He was of the material of which martyrs 
are made. Dr. Updeghaff' would have walked to his death with 
calmness and without a murmur to save a cause to which If was 
devoted as a matter of conscience. 

He was not, in the generally accepted sense, a brilliant man. His 
qualities of head and heart were for a lifetime, not for an occasion. 

The light of his intellect was constant and sure. It is said that 



ADDRESS OF MS. BUTTMRWOUTH, OF OHIO. 33 

the world i- made better by the constant efforts of a few and the 
litt'iil efforts of a few inure. Dr. Updegraff was of the constant 
few — the constant few to whom the world is so greatly indebted 

for facts i >mplished, for labors done. He did not know how t<> 

dodge an issue or shirk a responsibility. Ilr never had occasion 
to suddenly remember that he had an engagement which called 
him away from this floor just ;i> an important vote was about to 
be taken. 

I do ii"t criticise those who have such memories, since, of course, 
ii i- a mere matter of memory, ami the fact thai it awakens at such 
a moment is the merest coincidence, [only note that I Ipdegr iff's 
memory was nut of that kind. Do you think I have been too kind 
to the memory of my deceased friend? [f so, you do not know 
him as I did — as one who furnished an anchor Cor the society in 
which he lived, one who never drifted from the moorings of right, 
whose -oul was large and a lit receptacle tin- pure and noble emo- 
tions, and unlike some in which such sentiments are cramped and 
crippled by the dwarfed dimensions of the tenement. 

lie was so constituted that the thoughts that drift through vul- 
gar minds found no open way to his. This Republic could better 
spare ten thousand meteors that flash constantly across our polit- 
ical horizon than one fixed star. This country in her political sky 
has a vast milky way of twinkling orbs of doubtful magnitude, 
the uncertain reflection of which tends rather to make obscure 
than to make clear the highway of public duty. In the presence 
of such condition- we may well regret the eclipse by death of a 
single luminary whose light, if not brilliant, was certain and con- 
stant. Dr. Updegraff will be missed more than some who have 

filled a larger place in the public eye. Those who study healthful 
precepts and profit by wise example will regret him whom we 
mourn. His influence for good will be felt when the memory of 
many of his contemporaries who deemed him plain and plodding 
is forgotten. 
0171 3 



34 LIFE AND I ■ll.ii;.lt //.'/,' OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 



Address of Mr. Peelle, of Indiana. 

Mr. Speakek : Having been one of the committee appointed to 
attend the funeral of the late Dr. Updegraff may account some- 
what for thf propriety of my saying something on this occasion. 
My acquaintance with l>r. Updegraff began with this Congress, 
and in that brief acquaintance I found him to be a man of decided 
conviction, possessing that courage which is essential to enforce it. 
His speech in this House at the last session on the tariff will long 
staml as a model speech, as it affects especially the agricultural in- 
terests of tlii- country. 

He was a man of large experience, and, as I take it, a close ob- 
server and a student. He must have been both, as his storehouse 

of knowledge was full. Ilis speeches, both ill this House and else- 
where, entitled him to high rank as an original thinker and as an 
analyzer of thought, always keeping close to those eternal truths 
which make a man formidable in debate and as a speaker, while 
at the same time it poises a man for good citizenship. 

He died without complaint and with that bravery which always 
characterizes the life of a man whose courage rests in the wisdom 
and in the goodness of (iod. 

As the committee approached the little village of his residence 
we discovered the town ailed with citizens, young and old, while 
every house was draped in mourning. Sir, are not these higher 
tributes to his memory and worth than can possibly be paid by any 

on the tl ■ of this House? The large Quaker church where' 

the funeral was held would not hold the multitude which came to 

pay the la>t sad tribute of respect. To each he was esteemed a 

friend, and his large heart ami kindly nature always res] led to 

the want- of the needy and the oppressed. These are jewels in 

the crown of immortality, and well worthy the imitation of us all. 

But, .Mr. Speaker, the life and public services of our late friend 

have Keen so f u 1 1 v pictured I ,y his colleagues and others that I can 



ADDRESS OF MR. PARKER, OF NEW TORE. 35 

dd nothing. The poet Bums has given the proper epitaph on 
ur comrade and our friend, and with his linos I will conclude: 

An honest 111:111 here lies at res!, 
As e'er God with his image blessed ; 
The friend of man, the friend of truth, 
The friend of age, the guide of youth. 
Few hearts like his with virtue warmed, 
Few heads with knowledge so informed. 
If there's another world, he lives in idiss: 
If there is none, lie made the lie>t of tliis. 



Address of Mr. Parker, of New York. 

Mr. Speakee : It was ray fortune to first answer toa roll-call as 
;i member-elect of this Forty-seventh Congress in that hall at the 
fair city of < lleveland where the meeting was held to prepare to ac- 
company to its last resting-place the sacred body of James A. Gar- 
field. Many of the members now present first met on that day, 
and none who there met will ever forget the impressive associa- 
tions of that solemn occasion. All hearts were melted in the con- 
sciousness of personal and national loss in the presence of the dead 
President and of a people's mourning. Those who hail been op- 
ponents met as friends, and strangers met as brothers. Every man 
realized that his companion Kent under the same disappointment 
and unavailing sorrow. The prizes and the honors of life seemed 
hut trifles indeed in the presence of the universal affliction and of 
the calm sleeper there. 

By fortunate chance my position in the funeral procession fell in 
companionship with the honorable Jonathan T. Updegraff, 
whose decease we now mourn. Of till the vast throne- no man 
could have been a more sincere, a more unselfish mourner than this 
good, honest friend, who has now himself passed over the one broad 
pathway where the foot-prints of till of us must finally disappear. 

The conversation was upon, and only upon, the deceased, and many 
an affectionate and touching tribute did he whom we now mourn 
pay to the great departed. He told us of their labors and their 
services together ; of the close and sympathetic intercourse of years; 



36 LIFE ASl< CHAEAl TBR OF J'iXATHJX T. rPDEGRAFF. 

of the simple grandeur of his great-hearted leader; of the affec- 
tion and absolute confidence with which the people who had wit- 
nessed his every-day life had trusted that leader; of the tender- 
ness of lii> friendship; of the exalted nobility of hi> mind. 

And the pure human goodness of the man glowed in hi- tad- 
ami a tear dimmed his eye while describing how the great leader, 
then the idol of his party, of national tame, and conscious of his 
almost irre^i-til>l«- strength, in the considerate kindness of his heart 
turned liaek a? he was leaving the hospitable home of his "1<1 Quaker 
friend to call for, and bid good-by to, and shake hand- with the 
poor uncultured colored dom - 

Be exhibits hiss - justice, for, physician as he was, and 
well aware of the criticisms visited upon his brothers of the med- 
ical profession who had borne the tearful responsibility of seeking 
to save the life of his friend through the lung month- of agony, 
-- commended their faithfulness and skill and resign- 
edly -aid that they had dune all that they could do and all that 
men had a right to expect 

From the acquaintance thus formed, and because of the qualitie- 
and characteristics he disclosed, and by reason of the frank, genial, 
and kindly nature of the man. I came to feel hctter acquainted 
with the deceased than with almost any other member of the House 
I had nut previously known. More than once I had occasion to 
: d to him for a good word and a kind act. He was the 
very spirit of kindnes- and good-will. He wa- so plainly ami 
naturally honorable that no one ever thought of it as possible for 
him to 1*- otherwise. 

He was a plain man. una— timing, but always clearly seeing and 
5 duty. Hi was especially watchful of agricultural legis- 
lation and ready to lead or follow to secure the rights of the farm- 
ing interest. He was faithful and attentive, always in hi- place in 
- . doing hi- whole duty intelligently, but without ostenta- 
<r. s a man of quick judgment and strong 

id upon adequate occasion an eloquent sjK-aker. He in- 
stinctively touched the heart- of the common people, for lie knew 
them, he was from ami of them. Hi.- political addresses delivered 
in the Stat \ York will not soon be forgotten. 



ADDRESS OF MB. TOWNSEND, OF OHIO. 37 

Knowing this man as one of pure and blameless life, honest and 
true, faithful and without guile, I claim the privilege to-day of 
joining those who were his neighbors and long-time associates in 
doing honor to his memory, and beg to place reverently upon his 
coffin my sprig of northern evergreen. 



Address of Mr. Townsend, of Ohio. 

Mr. Speaker, as we stand by the casket in which lie the remains 
of a loved friend wecannol but contemplate the uncertainty of hu- 
man life and the certainty of death. We are reminded of the des- 
tiny that awaits u< all. Without any efforPof our own there arises 
in the breast of every beholder one question: " What is death ".'" 
It is the unsearchable mystery which every man, from the dawn- 
ing of the world to the present day, has tried in vain to penetrate. 
This feeling of the infinite and dark beyond caused the ancients to 
speculate upon the life of man on earth compared with the uncer- 
tain time beyond. " Life appears for a while, but what." a<k 
they. •• i- the time which comes after, the time which was before." 

Such shadows of human existence scarcely darkened the path- 
way of Jonathan T. Updegraff. "Life is real, life is earn- 
est.'' >ays Longfellow, and so it was interpreted by our dead friend. 
He strove to live well, not to live long. 

< tf the events of that busy life he lived I neednot -peak. They 
have been more fitly pictured by those who have preceded me. I 
can only speak of a few of the noble qualities of his character as 
they appeared to me during a long personal acquaintance. < toe of 
the most noticeable of his traits was his ambition. His ambition, 
however, was an unselfish one. ETe sought position and power 
that he might do good and use it for the benefit of his fellowman. 

He was a man of robust mental and physical energy, capable of 
long-continued application to any task to which he set himself. 
So untiring was his energy that he seldom failed to attain the ob- 
ject for which he -ought. No labor discouraged him, no contin- 
gency appalled him. no disadvantage disheartened him, no defeat 



38 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

depressed him. Po ed of indomitable will, he had courage 

equal to his convictions, and was ready to express them upon all 
proper occasions. Scrupulously honest, he was conscientiously de- 
voted to the discharge of his duties. Whatever he undertook to 
do he did well. 

He was well educated and thoroughly readon all subjects II.' 
had enjoyed unusual advantages in preparation for his career as a 
physician, and was a successful practitioner. But not alone for 
pecuniary reward did he labor. His poorest neighbor could ex- 
pecl the mo.-t patient and careful treatment without money and 
without price. Agriculture was his favorite pursuit, and to its 
service he devoted many pleasant hours, looking upon it as a branch 
,, I' science contributing most to the immediate wants of man. 

I lis Congressional cfreer, too, was one characterized by deep de- 
votion to du.v. He was alwavs present in his seat, and few votes 
are tl , |„. found in the records while a member of this body where 
his name was not recorded upon the one side or the other of a 
question. In the Forty-sixth Congress, as a member of the Com- 
mittee on Invalid Pensions, he devoted a great deal of time and 
labor to the investigation of claim- referred to him, and many a 
poor and maimed soldier and many a veteran's widow and orphan 
children are indebted to him for the relief they now enjoy. While 
painstaking and upright in these investigations, his sympathy for 
the soldiers inclined him to the side of the applicant for the pension. 
His professional knowledge of diseases and medicine made him a 
most valuable member of the Select Committee on the Public 

Health. 

His speech upon the tariff last session from the stand-point of 
the farmer was able, exhaustive, and original, and gained for him 
;l wide reputation for ability. It did much to place before the 
farmers of the country that greatly misunderstood subject in its 
true relations to agriculture. lb' was an enthusiastic practical 
farmer and a loyal adherent to the principles of protection. His 
was o,„. of the very best tariff speeches made, for the reason that 
it was wholly original in its conception. 

In his treatment of his fellow-members he was kindly, courte- 
ous, and commanded their confidence and respect. What a sunny 



ADDRESS OF MR. TOJVNSEND, OF OHIO. rl9 

nature was his! Though he suffered from a fatal malady, be bore 
it with heroic courage and without complaint. The same even 
temperament characterized his demeanor ; frank, open-hearted, there 
was that in his countenance which harbored not deceit. 

In the undemonstrative teachings of the Quaker belief he found 
the rule and guide of his religious life; yet there was the most 
liberal toleration of the views of others. He could truly say that 
•• none of his fellow-citizens were compelled through any act of his 
in put on a mourning-robe." 

In the domestic circle he found a source of great comfort. He 
was the father of five children, all of whom were tenderly raised 
and well educated, and he lived to see his family useful and hon- 
ored citizen.-. 

Dr. Updegraff reached the summit of his ambition, and after 
an active and eventful life and one of great usefulness, crowned 
with more success than usually falls to the lot of man, weary and 
exhausted, surrounded by hi- family and friends, almost in sight 
of the farm where he passed so many happy years of his life, his 

soul obeyed the sum is; in full possession of his faculties, with 

words of cheer and comfort to sorrowing friends, he calmly passed 
away. Time will roll hi- ceaseless course, the moments will hurry 

!>v like the shadows of a passing cloud, generations will < te and 

go, hut the lessons taught in the life of Jonathan T. UPDE- 
GRAFF will endure for all time. 

The Speaker. The question is upon the adoption of the reso- 
lutions which have been submitted. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted ami the House ad- 
journed. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 



In the Senate op the United States, 

December 5, 1882. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPher- 
son, its Clerk, communicated to the Senate the intelligence of the 
death of Mr. William M. Lowe, late a member of the House 
from the State of Alabama, and of Mr. Jonath \n T. Updegraff, 
lair a member of the House from the State oft >hio, and transmitted 
the resolutions of the House thereon. 

Mr. Pendleton. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before 
the Senate the resolutions just communicated from the House of 
Representatives. 

The Presiding Officer. The Chair lavs before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Representatives, which will be read. 

The Acting Secretary read as follows : 



Resolved, That the House 1ms heard with sincere regret the announcement 
of the death, during the late recess, of'Hon. William XI. Lowe, a Represen- 
tative from the State of Alabama, and of Hen. Jonathan T. Updkgraff, a 
Representative from the State of Ohio. 

i;, s„i ml. That tin- Clerk communicate theforegoingresolution to the Senate. 

Resolved, That as a mark of tespect to the memory of the deceased the 
House do new adjourn. 

Mr. Pendleton. Mr. President, as a mark of respect to the 

memory of these d< ased Representatives, 1 move that the Senate 

do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and (at 1 o'clock and 58 minutes p. 
in.) the Senate adjourned. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

February 6, L883. 
A messagefrom the House of Representatives, by Mr. McPher- 
on, its Clerk, transmited to the Senate the resolutions adopted 
in 



ADDRESS OF MR. SHERMAN, OF OHIO. 41 

by that body concerning thedeath of Jonathan T. Updegraff, 
hue a member of the House from the State of Ohio, and Robert 
M. A. II wvk, late a member of the House from the Stale of Illi- 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Representatives. 

The Acting Secretary read as follows : 

Resolved, That tin- House of Representatives has received with profound 
sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. Jonathan T. Updegraff, 
late a Representative from the State of ( >hio. 

Resolved, That the business of the Honse he now suspended that suitable 
honors may be paid to the memory of the deceased, 

Resolved, That the ( 'lerk of this House do communicate these resolutions 
to the Senate of the United States. 

Mt.Sherman. Mr. President, [ submit resolutions and ask that 
they be read. 

The Presedeni pro tempore. The resolutions will be read. 
The Acting Secretary read as follows : 

Resolved, Thai the Senate lias heard with profouud sorrow the annouuce- 
iii. m of the death of Hon. Jonathan T. Updegraff, late a Representative 
from the state of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the business of the Seuate be suspended in order thai the 
friends of the deceased have opportunity to pay fitting tributes to Ins public 
and |u ivate virtues. 

Resolved, That the Secretary transmit a copy of these proceedings to the 
family of the, l lased. 



Address of Mr. Sherman, of Ohio. 

Mr. President: The message of the House of Kepresentatives 
conveying to us the formal notice of the death of Jonathan T. 
Updegraff, late member of that House from the State of Ohio, 
imposes upon me the duty of adding a brief tribute to the memory 
of a colleague who had been thrice elected to represent in Con- 
gress the people of the district in which he was born, and among 
whom he had spenl his entire life. 

It is not merely to perform this formal duty to a colleague that I 



42 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. VPDEGRAFF. 

now address yuu, but also to express my profound sorrow for the 
Loss of a personal friend whom I have known for many years in 
private life, and to whom T was deeply indebted for the highest 
marks of kindness, courtesy, and support. 

He died at his home at Mount Pleasant, in the county of Jeffer- 
son, in the State of Ohio, surrounded by his family and neighbors, 
two days before we assembled at the present session of Congress, 
in the full maturity of Ins mental powers, and when he was 
cheered by success in an eagerly contested political canvass. 

He had hoped to meel here with us. Though the disease of 
which he died was that enemy of human life so fatal in our day to 
vigorous manhood, yet during his last illness he was hopeful and 
confident that his strong constitution would enable him to live to 
carry out cherished measures of public policy to which he was 
committed. But the fatal journey was not to he avoided, and all 
we can do is to mark the departure of a colleague and a friend 
with a few kindly words that will s,„,n he said for each of us as 
we yield in our turn. 

Dr. Qpdegraff's life was tranquil, useful, and honorable, 
lie was horn of a highly respected Quaker family of Virginia, a 
member of which, in the early history of Ohio, settled a few miles 
from the l.anks of the Ohio River, then the outer verge of the 
white settlements. His grandfather was a member of the conven- 
tion which framed the first constitution of Ohio. His kindred 
were members of the Society of Friends, and he was reared, lived, 
and died a member of that society. His early life was spent on 
the farm where lie was horn. Hut he had the advantage of 11 good 
education in the common schools and at Franklin College in that 
State, lie studied medicine and graduated at the University of 
Pennsylvania, and afterward at medical schools at Edinburg and 
Paris. 

lie made a protracted journey through Europe, Egypt, and the 
Holy Land. Afterward he practiced his profession for several 
years, but devoted his leisure time and his energy and capital to 
agricultural pursuits, which gratified more than any other his 
natural tastes and inclinations. He manifested his love for the 
country rather than the city, for the cultivation of the farm rather 



ADDRESS OF MR. SHERMAN, OF OHIO. 43 

than the practice of liis profession, in his daily life, in his studies, 

and in his i versation. Few men were better informed on the 

subject and history of rural life than he. He always insisted that 
the arts of husbandry had been more carefully studied and prac- 
ticed aniline' the ancient nations than in later times. He yielded 
only to our own age superiority in labor-saving mechanical 
devices, which he contended had changed for the worse the moral 
tendency of country life. He supported Ids theory by many in- 
teresting descriptions of Judeau and Egyptian tannine-. With 
him Job was the great farmer, not only as the owner of vast 
herds and flocks, but as the farmer who employed rive hundred 
yoke of oxen in plowing, and "a very great husbandry." The 
Egyptians exceeded all nations of modern times in the extent and 
perfection of the tillage .if the soil, by which they were able to 
support a vast population and to -end food supplies to surrounding 
nations; thus by gainful industry obtaining the means of building 
the monuments which to our day excite the wonder of mankind. 

lie was fond of quoting the poets and statesmen of Rome in 
honor of the dignity of the first and noblest employment of man. 
He looked upon the devices whieh in our day enable owners of 
land by mechanical implements to dispense with the labor of thou- 
sands of husbandmen a- of doubtful benefit, tending to concentrate 
capital in the hands of the few and deepening the poverty of the 
poor by lessening their employment. 

Though Dr. HpDEGRAFF loved best the vocation of a tanner, 
In- practiced his profession in his neighborhood, and during a part 
of the late war served a- a surgeon in the Union Army, and bore 
a high reputation as a skillful and successful physician. He has 
always, since I have known him, taken an active part in political 
atfairsas a Republican, and has frequently engaged in political dis- 
cussions. From his boyhood, in harmony with the Quaker ideas 
of his ancestors, he was an earnest opponent of slavery, a member 
of the Krcesoil party, and cordially sympathized with the most ad- 
vanced views in opposition to slavery. He has always been iden- 
tified with the temperance cause. In life and speech he did his 
utmost to check the evils of intemperance and to restrain the traffic 
in intoxicating liquors, and was a member of various temperance 



44 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAFF. 

organizations. As a speaker he was universally kind and cour- 
teous, and illustrated his argument with quaint humor. Neither 
pretending to be an orator, or using the arts of an orator, he was 
an interesting speaker, and as such was much songhi for in the 
public canvasses in several States. He served as a Presidential 
elector, and voted for General Grant, in 1K72. He was an influ- 
ential member of the senate of Ohio in the two following years. 
He took an active part in the campaign of 1875, when President 
Haves was elected governor of < )hio, and was a delegate to the 
national convention in 1X711 which nominated President Haves. 

Dr. Updegraff was first elected to Congress in October, 1878. 
lie was re-elected in 1880 and 1882. When he entered Congress 
he was in apparently robust health, large, strong, full chested, 
and vigorous both in mind and action. The party to which lie 
belonged was then in a minority in the House of Representatives. 
With the wise caution and modesty of a new member he took hut 
little part in the debates of that session. He, however, made one 
speech on the hill providing for the appointment of a commission 
on the subject of the alcoholic liquor traffic, which illustrates the 
strong moral convictions which governed him in all matters of 
legislation. 

If a measure was right, or tended to promote morality, g I 

order, or temperance, he was sure lo he for it, whatever obstacles 
Stood in the way. lie always acted upon the saying of Mr. 

Gladst ■, that "it is the duty of government to make it as hard as 

possible for a man to go wrong, and as easy as possible for him to 
go right." His plea for temperance was not affected in the least by 
doiihts as to the power of < longressover the subject or the resulting 
dangers of extreme measures. It was enough to enlist his earnest 
support I'm- him to believe that the measure, so far as it could be 
executed, tended to hanish from the state that which is fitted only 
to corrupt the morals of the pn.ple. The same mural tone is ob- 
served in everything that was said by Dr. UPDEGRAFF while a 
member of < 'ongress, and it was shown without cant, pretension, or 
reproof to those who differed from him. [n his conduct also he 
observed the same moral standard that he sought to enforce by 
legislation. 



J DDK ESS OF MB. SHERMAN, OF OHIO. 45 

He took an active part in securing liberal pensions for the sol- 
diers in the Union Army, and stated strongly their claims upon the 
Government ; for without their success " we should to-day have uo 
Congress of the United States, no national Treasury, no nation." 
The speech of Dr. Updegraff that more than any other states 
his convictions is that made by him in February, 1881, on the hill 
for the creation of the Department of Agriculture. It is a strong 
and earnest plea for a national recognition of that great industry. 
He was not contented with quoting the favorable opinions of Wash- 
ington and other-, hut demonstrated that such a department ought 
to Ke and could be made a cheap instrument of immense national 
benefits. He said : 

The social and intellectual condition of the rural population of any country 

' mcertain measure of its high civilization and progress. The thought- 

fill statesmen of Europe new admit that our system of laud-holding is one oi 
the greal sources of enti rpriee ;ui<l thrift, as well as of popular content, and 
gives to industry the chance of permanent reward, and to labor the dignity 
of freedom. Popular education brings general intelligence. Industry, energy, 
and physical health combine to produce the elements of character which 
make good citizens and successful men. Loving their homes, the love of 
country is easier and stronger. Schlegel, in his Philosophy of History , saj s : 

" Pei haps i1 is nol t uch to assert that many of the qualities which fitted 

the Romans for conquering the world and perfecting then- so celebrated juris- 
prudence were acquired, or at least nourished and matured, by the skill, 
foresight, and persevering industry so needful for the intelligent and success 
ful cultivation of tin' soil.'' And in this country, since the dawn of the Revo 
lntion, when at Concord Itridge — 

'•The embattled farmers stood, 
Ami tired the shot heard round the world," 
tins hard} and patriotic class lias been, in every conflict, a chief source of 
i In nat ion's triumph, as it is in iln\ a large element of the nation's strength. 

During the last session of Congress Dr. Updegraff made a 

speech of reinai'kalile ability upon the policy of protective duties 
as they affected the farmer. It attracted attention at the time, and 
may he read with benefit now as presenting the strongest statement 
of the benefit of this policy to the farmers of every part of the 
country. This «a> the last speech made by him in Congress, and 
it is safe to say no other made during that aide debate is more 
marked with intelligence and ability. The two speeches referred 
to, with short remarks made on pensions, education, and kindred 



4G LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. UPDEGRAPF. 

topics, indicate the bent of Dr. Updegraff's mind. Be had 
charitj tor all. All hedid and all lie said was to relieve, improve, 
or advance some portion of mankind. No imkindness marked Ids 
speech; no bitterness could lie distilled in Ids brain, lint onlygood- 
w ill and charity— Quaker virtues which he inherited and honestly 
maintained. 

Dr. Updegraff was nominated last summer for his third term. 
During the canvass it became apparent to his friends that his physi- 
cal strength was passing away. His usual buoyancy and energy 
were gone; the palid hue of decay was on his countenance. Still 
he was hopeful, and when his friends believed and announced that 
his death was sure and imminent he believed that he would recover. 

On the day after his election his death was prematurely am need, 

but he rallied and improved. Thus for six weeks he lingered on 
the verge of the greal change of life to death, suffering greatly but 
complaining not, carefully arranging his worldly affairs, with wife 
and children around him, a whole community sorrowing. Then, 

fully conscious of his c lition, earthly hope failed and life ended. 

While we were journeying hither he journeyed where no guide can 
aid him except that revealed to us in the Christian's hope. 

We can say of him that lie filled honorably all the obligations 
that he undertook in life, to father, mother, wife, and children, to 
those who confided in him as a physician, and to friends, whom he 
never betrayed. To constituents who trusted to him political power 
he returned duty honestly performed. I believe also he discharged 
that higher duty to the Supreme Ruler of the universe which rests 
upon all of mortal mold. He did what he could by example to 
benefit those who survive him. We arc atom- in a moving pano- 
rama, changing, oh, how rapidly. If it can be truthfully said of 
any man he has done in his life more good than evil, then is the 
world better for his having lived. Dr. UPDEGRAFF may not have 
made so conspicuous a mark upon our time as some others, vet all 
that he did do was useful, honorable, and good. 



ADDRESS OF Ml:. PENDLETON, OF OHIO. 47 



Address of Mr. PENDLETON, of Ohio. 

Mr. President: My colleague [Mr. Sherman] has fittingly de- 
scribed the useful and honorable career of Mr. Updegraff in his 
profession, in the Army, on the farm, in the political contests of his 
native State. He had the advantage of close personal association 
ami warm and long-sustained friendship. 1 knew Mr. Updegraff 
only by reputation until I met him hereal the extra session of ( Con- 
gress in L879. He was then for the first time a member of the 
1 Ion-, of Representatives. 

Afterward my intercourse with him was not intimate or daily; 
hut it was enough to enable me to perceive ami to appreciate 
those qualities of mind and character which made his life useful 
and worthy in all the various relation- t which my colleague 
ha- alluded, lie was affable in temper, genial in manners, 
firm in hi- con's ictions, frank in their expression, temperate in their 
assertion, toleranl of all differences. He was fast in his friendships, 
just In his antagonisms, an agreeable companion, an educated, cul- 
tivated gentleman. 

A touching letter, written from his bed of death to hi- late op- 

I" ni in his last heated political contest, in response to solicitous 

inquiry a- to hi- health did equal honor to both. 

When I lastsawhim heseemed in perfect health; buteventhen 
the fatal disease was secretly consuming his vital powers. I n the hour 

of hi- greatest political triumph he obeyed the unand of a victor 

stronger than he, and trod the mysterious pathways which, through 
the portal- of the i b, lead to the " undiscovered country." 

Mi-. President, men who achieve commanding influence and 
stamp the character of the age in which they live are the product 
of the centuries. It may well be doubted whether the order of 

advancing society, the progression of -race, the attainment of the 

better and the purer to which the insatiable longings of the human 
-on! forever aspire, are not more promoted by the active, earnest. 



48 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JONATHAN T. VPDEGRAFF. 

faithful, modest lives of those who in less conspicuous station always 
to their own selves are true 

Compute the chances, 

Who wins the race of glory, but than him 
A thousand men nnnv ii 1 < > i ionsl\ endowed 
Have fallen upon the course : a thousand others 
Have- had their fortunes foundered bj a chance 
Whilst lighter barks pushed past them; to whom a. hi 
A smaller tally of the singular few 
Who gifted with predominating pen ers, 
Bearyel a temperate will and keep the peace, 
Tin' world knows nothing of its greatest nun. 

The President^™ tempore. The question is on the adoption 
of the resolution presented by the Senator from Ohio [Mr. Sher- 
man]. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously, and the Senate ad 
journed. 



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